


Elder & Rowan

by vesper_house



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, First Kiss, Light Angst, M/M, Soulmates, SuperBat Secret Santa, Superbat Secret Santa 2017, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 13:13:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13147443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vesper_house/pseuds/vesper_house
Summary: A group of students from the United States spends their winter semester at Hogwarts and everybody knows the real magic happens on Christmas.





	Elder & Rowan

**Author's Note:**

> Gift for leiorossi. Happy Holidays!

December arrived almost unexpectedly, pinching cheeks all around with its crisp air and biting frost. Everything turned white in a span of one night – lake frozen, forest iced – as if it was a spell that transformed the world and not something as mundane as the weather. It did not take long before Christmas decorations started making appearance in every corner of the castle. Even Peeves changed his attire to a fancy elf costume with bells hanging from the hat (his behavior however have not improved, not one bit).

Clark was hesitant about staying at Hogwarts for Christmas. Despite the undisputable beauty of Scotland in wintertime, he missed home. Most of the exchange students decided to stay – after all it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. In January they are going back to America to finish their final semester. Everyone insisted that Clark has to stay as well. In the end it was Ma and Pa’s approval that convinced him to do so. To his surprise the closer it got to Christmas, the more he enjoyed the idea. Exams were over so the students spent most of their time outside. Ice skating, snowball fights, friendly quidditch games and building magical snow sculptures filled their days with laughter and joy. The tree in Hufflepuff common room was decorated with golden fairy lights, cinnamon sticks, apples, dried slices of oranges and gingerbread cookies. Clark even won the annual gobstones tournament and was allowed to wear the champion’s chaplet whenever he felt like it. It was going to be the time of his life.

That is, until someone suggested that they should have a secret santa event among the exchange students.

Clark’s smile faltered when he saw the name of the recipient he picked from Lana’s hat. He could swear he heard Peeves laughing hysterically when his eyes laid upon the first letter of _Bruce Wayne._

To be fair, Clark had no good reason for disliking Wayne… except that Wayne seemed to not like him just because. Sorted to Slytherin, the demure brunet was being known for his perfect grades, unspeakable wealth, and the tragic death of his parents. Even people from the United Kingdom were aware of this since it was one of the most heartbreaking stories in the wizarding world. Surely they have made assumptions about him even before his foot touched Hogwarts’ doorsteps. Clark himself was guilty of this, too. He remembers the evening when the exchange students were getting sorted into their temporary houses. The whispers that occurred when Bruce Wayne sit on the stool were somewhat unnerving. Clark thought how awful it must have felt to be a subject of such reactions. Was it pity? He prefers to call it empathy. As they were leaving the Great Hall, he noticed that Wayne has dropped his glove on the ground. He picked it up and gave it back to him with a smile. He really wanted them to be friends. Nothing could prepare him for the icy cold thanks he got in return. Wayne did not even look him in the eye, as if Clark was just another insect disturbing his peace. From that day they have not spoken, not for lack of trying on Clark’s part. His efforts were always met with indifference. To his frustration, Wayne acted friendly towards other students and professors while still maintaining his distance. What made Clark so unworthy of attention, he may never know.

\---

“What the hell should I buy for him… He has everything!” Clark sighs deeply. It is the morning of the Christmas Eve and he still has not found a gift. Truth be told, he consciously waited until the last minute to get this done. In retrospect, he should have been smarter. “Candy is always a good idea.” Lana points in the direction of Honeydukes. “I don’t know,” he whines, “have you ever seen him eating candy? Besides, I bet he likes only the finest gourmands kept in Gringotts vaults.”

“What about Zonko’s?”

“Oh please. Bruce Wayne and pranks? The guy doesn’t have a sense of humor.”

“So maybe a cracker?”

“There’ll be plenty of crackers in the Hall.”

“I heard Gladrags Wizardwear sells socks that scream when they get too smelly.”

“Do you really think Wayne needs a reminder to change socks?”

“A quill? Everybody needs a quill.”

“Yeah, and Wayne’s is made out of a real phoenix feather.”

“No it’s not!”

“Well, it could be.”

“A book?”

“His library back home is probably bigger than Hogwarts.”

“You know what? I give up.” Lana puts her hands in the air. “Quit your nagging and just get something disposable. Why do you care?” Clark sighs and stares at the strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees. He just… “I like to put meaning behind what I do. Sorry for caring.”

“Aaawww. That’s admirable but the guy doesn’t give a shit, Clark. Get him something generic like, I don’t know, a scented candle and call it a day.” She sounds really irritated. “Yeah, maybe you’re right. I need a little break. Wanna grab some butterbeer at Three Broomsticks? My treat!” Clark suggests and Lana happily takes the offer.

Later in the afternoon they are on their way back when something catches Clark attention: a snow globe that seems to shine with its own light. The silver base has a delicate ornament. Aside from the tiny diamond particles floating in the liquid, the ball is empty. “It’s a projector,” a lady behind the counter explains in a sing-song voice. “You can put a picture underneath and the people in it will appear in the ball!”

“What do they do once they’re in the ball?” Clark asks, intrigued. “Oh, usually they dance slowly in the snow, or just smile and wave at you. Sometimes it looks like they’re having a conversation. But it’s always positive, I can guarantee. And truly enchanting. Wonderful Christmas decoration!” She keeps on praising the product but it is unnecessary. Clark has already made the decision.

\---

The Christmas morning was more than anyone has expected: the ceiling of the Great Hall was showing Northern Lights, so the icy white decorations reflected light pink, blue, lavender and minty green colors. Food was served on platters that looked frozen but were warm to the touch. Christmas trees were glowing thanks to a mysterious type of seaweed from the bottom of the lake. The amount of delicacies on the table was something Clark has never seen in his entire life. For the first time since the semester started he could admit that Hogwarts’ food was better than what his Ma was cooking back in Kansas. (Not that he would ever tell her that.)

However, the real fun started in the evening. Last year students prepared an underground party in one of the empty classrooms. It was not nearly as elegant as the feast in the Great Hall but the punch was spiked with fire whisky and the music was loud so really, who would mind? The secret santa brought a few inappropriate gifts; Clark was too busy blushing at the prancing dildos to notice Wayne’s reaction at the snow globe. He was nowhere to be seen. “Who wants to spin the bottle?!” Everyone cheered at the drunk girl from Ravenclaw. That was Clark’s signal to leave. He did so as quietly as he could but did not feel like going back to the common room. It was said that the Hogwarts’ stuff was more laid back during Christmas time and they were not patrolling the halls too often. Clark’s footsteps lead him to the Astronomy Tower. The view always took his breath away.

To his surprise, the door to the highest balcony is open. Clark panics a bit but he cannot hear anyone. Maybe professor Sinistra forgot about it after the last lesson? He gently cracks the door and looks outside. A stream of silver light immediately catches his attention; it is the projector he bought today in Hogsmeade, and the person sitting beside it is no one else than Bruce Wayne himself. Clark’s first instinct is to retreat before Wayne sees him. His feet stay firmly on the ground. There is something so profoundly sad about the boy Clark feels the need to do… something. Anything. He enters the balcony before he has a chance to examine how stupid this decision really is. “Kent,” he freezes. “I was wondering how long you were going to stand there like a psycho.” Bruce does not seem disinterested anymore. A bottle of wine next to him could have something to do with it. “I… I wanted to enjoy the view for the last time.” Clark giggles awkwardly. ”We don’t have… that” he gestures towards the horizon “where I live.”

“Kansas is indeed very flat.”

“How did you…”

“Wine?” Bruce asks and does not wait for the answer; he swishes his wand and a cup forms out of thin air. Another swish and the bottle pours some wine. “Yeah, uh, why not.” Clark takes a seat next to him, not quite sure where this is going. True to the lady’s word, a couple is dancing slowly inside the globe. “Who’s that?” Clark asks and almost chokes on the wine when he hears: “My parents.” _Oh._ Oh, this is bad. He is an idiot who never sees what is right in front of him. “I’m sorry… I didn’t…”

“It’s all right,” Bruce says; the tone of his voice reveals that he has said it a thousand times before. He chuckles. “It’s just so weird that someone bought this for me. Here, on the other side of the world.”

“You… don’t like it?” Clark is sweating despite the cold. “Quite the opposite. But I thought it would be the first Christmas when I don’t think about them. And here they are again. No matter where I go, they’re all I can think of.”

“I’m…”

“Don’t say you’re sorry, please.”

“Sor… Uh, right. I won’t.”

They drink in silence. Wine and whiskey from the party are messing with Clark’s head. “Can I ask you something?” Bruce grunts out his permission. “Why don’t we ever… we never did this, right? Why is that?”

“Did what?”

“This.” Clark points between the two of them frantically. “Talk. Drink. Being all friendsy-friends, you know. The whole semester have passed and we still don’t know each other. I thought… I thought you hated me.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Well, maybe because you never even looked at me.” Clark begins to understand why they call it the _liquid courage._ Bruce is quiet. “I don’t hate you,” he says after a while.

“Cool. I got you this by the way. Merry Christmas. Sorry for reminding you about your parents… And for saying sorry even though I’ve just said I won’t do it again.” Bruce laughs. It is the first time Clark has heard him laughing and it is… nice. Very nice. “I’m sorry for making you think I hate you. I always avoid people I’m attracted to. It’s a problem.”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry. Wait…” Clark fights against the brain fog. Suddenly he realizes that Wayne is too close. His lips glisten in the dark. He has the faint taste of wine and frost that makes Clark go red. Bruce slips his tongue inside his mouth. The sounds they are making are embarrassing to say the least. “So you’re telling me we could’ve been doing this since September?”

“I guess,” Bruce sounds bashful. He produces a small fire to keep them warm. Clark finally has a chance to take a closer look at his wand. “Is that elder wood?”

“Yes. I know, tricky and deeply unlucky,” Bruce groans. Clark’s heart beats even faster. “Have you… Have you heard anything else about it?”

“That the wizard who owns it will never prosper? It’s a wand for weirdos? I’ll die a horrible death?”

“No, not that. Some people say that the owners of elder wands have a strong connection with those who use rowan.”

“Sounds like another superstition.” Clark creates a string of shimmery hearts with his rowan wand and says: “I believe there’s more to this. Wanna find out?”

\---

_Mr Ollivander introduces his notes on wand woods:_

_Rowan_

_Rowan wood has always been much-favoured for wands, because it is reputed to be more protective than any other, and in my experience renders all manner of defensive charms especially strong and difficult to break. It is commonly stated that no dark witch or wizard ever owned a rowan wand, and I cannot recall a single instance where one of my own rowan wands has gone on to do evil in the world. Rowan is most happily placed with the clear-headed and the pure-hearted, but this reputation for virtue ought not to fool anyone - these wands are the equal of any, often the better, and frequently out-perform others in duels._

_Elder_

_The rarest wand wood of all, and reputed to be deeply unlucky, the elder wand is trickier to master than any other. It contains powerful magic, but scorns to remain with any owner who is not the superior of his or her company; it takes a remarkable wizard to keep the elder wand for any length of time. The old superstition, ‘wand of elder, never prosper,’ has its basis in this fear of the wand, but in fact, the superstition is baseless, and those foolish wandmakers who refuse to work with elder do so more because they doubt they will be able to sell their products than from fear of working with this wood. The truth is that only a highly unusual person will find their perfect match in elder, and on the rare occasion when such a pairing occurs, I take it as certain that the witch or wizard in question is marked out for a special destiny. An additional fact that I have unearthed during my long years of study is that the owners of elder wands almost always feel a powerful affinity with those chosen by rowan._

 (via pottermore)


End file.
